COPLAND: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Fanfare for the Common ManAtlanta Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lane, cond.
Telarc Digital DG-10078 (LP). Robert Woods, prod., Jack Renner, eng. DAA. TT: 44:11. I predict that this Fanfare for the Common Man will suffer the same fate as the opening measures of Also Sprach Zarathustra. The impact of the opening brass and tympani is stupendous. Even when I know it is coming, I tend to leap from my chair in surprise. All audiophile copies of this disc will become grey and worn on Band One of Side One. Audiophile impact aside, please don't neglect the other two works on this disc. Both Rodeo and Appalachian Spring receive excellent interpretations, and they too contain sufficient brass and drum to excite a jaded audiophile. Although recorded with a distant perspective—it was recorded in Atlanta Symphony Hall on May 24, 1982, using Schoeps Colette microphones and a Soundstream digital recorder—this disc does not sound as remote as the Telarc recording of Poulenc's Gloria (also reviewed in this issue), and despite some vagueness of image, at least the instruments seem to be in the proper place. The reproduction of the brass and tympani is excellent. As usual I heard some hardness to the massed strings, but as they are not a predominant part of most of the music, it wasn't very off-putting. If you don't have a copy of this music be sure to get this edition. The performances are excellent, and it must be rated "Top-of-the-Pile."—Margaret Graham
